Mozart is an extraordinary phenomenon but there is always a debate
surrounding the relationship between talent and genius as far as his
youthful compositions are concerned.

This particularly well-played collection of performances by the European
Union Chamber Orchestra, recorded in clear and truthful sound, finds
the young composer developing his powers in compelling fashion.

A feature of Mozart’s musical personality in his Salzburg years –
the 1760s and 1770s – remains the wonderful collection of dance music
that has stood the test of time and still delights and charms us today.
Even as early a piece as the G major Kassation, composed when he was
just thirteen years of age, has sufficient taste and imagination to
make the music most appealing. These characteristics are communicated
by the well-judged performance captured here, Hans-Peter Hofmann moulding
the phrasing to perfection.

The same can also be said of the Divertimento in D major, except that
this is a finer work still, from several years later. By 1776, when
is was composed, Mozart had turned the corner from talent to genius,
from his unique capacity for creative emulation towards an even more
extraordinary originality. For this Divertimento is one of the great
examples of the evident strengths of entertainment music from this
period. The performance seems just right, with tempi and phrasing
absolutely appropriate and the scale and balancing of the forces,
both strings and winds, eloquently serving the music.

It is in the performance of the well-known Symphony in A major that
doubts creep in. Celia Pond’s thoughtful programme note suggests this
piece might be the composer’s ‘first really great work’. What then
of the G minor Symphony, K183? Even so, it is certainly right to enthuse
about the A major Symphony, which is a masterpiece in every way.

There is more poetry in this score than is experienced here, and from
the opening theme onwards. The notes are all present and correct,
with tempi that are on the fast side, but the shadings of expression
don’t communicate the tenderness that lies at the heart of the first
two movements in particular. The approach suits the last two movements
rather better, with a strongly rhythmic minuet and a lively finale
replete with virtuoso horns as the work moves to its conclusion.